Andover Groups Using Social Media to Plan, Advertise Events, Rallies
By Philippa Konow
STAFF WRITER
Social Media has become almost unavoidable in today’s society. Facebook groups in Andover, such as “Indivisible Andover” and “Andover Cares about our Schools and Town,” have used social media to not only advertise but also organize their rallies and events.
Look back some months ago, and you can probably remember the Black Lives Matter rally at the Shawsheen intersection or the Stop Asian Hate rally later on. These two rallies were organized by “Indivisible Andover” and their many members. They used social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to spread the information; the date, time, and location as well as what will be taking place.
Recently, AHS has decided to have all hybrid students fully in person, as well as giving the option for remote students to join in person. This decision was heavily encouraged by the amount of students switching over to remote, as a result of the encouragement of “Andover Cares about our Schools and Town”. They were supposed to have a rally on April 29 for the reopening of the school, but opted to cancel when APS decided to reopen the high school to all students.
Heather Ferro, one of the main organizers in Andover cares, used Facebook to organize and advertise the rally. “The most helpful part was being able to reach a large and relevant audience,” Ferro stated. Although the rally didn’t occur, social media was a huge help bringing it together. She believes that if social media wasn’t used, “getting the word out and having people turn up would be more difficult.”
Many students, teachers, and parents get a lot of their information about events and rallies from social media platforms because of how much they are used. Sophomore Anya Gupta has been to some rallies after learning about them from social media. “I’ve mostly heard about protests through social media such as Instagram and Twitter. I also got to know about it through my friends.” she said. “I share the information on my Instagram stories, texted my friends and family, and spread the word [of rallies] as much as possible.”
